President Donald Trump, through the campaign season, notoriously doubled back on his word several times, but it can be safely stated that he was strong on increasing funding for infrastructure across the United States. He famously said that the airports of America are that of third world countries, which is an embarrassment on the international scene. Well to Mr. Trump’s knowledge or not, the American government has been spending billions on infrastructure. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) the government spent $416 billion on infrastructure in 2014 with $96 billion coming from the federal government. The government isn’t spending spare change on infrastructure it is accurate to say, but what Mr. Trump may be relieved by is what of that money is being wasted and essentially poured into the gutter.
President Trump | mrctv.org
From an article published by Yahoo! News in 2012, $75.5 million was spent on an airport that isn’t used and $29 million was spent to create a shipping harbor which isn’t used. In the Akutan community of Alaska, the town with a population of 75 permanent citizens saw an unprecedented amount of money spent in their town. What government planners forgot to take into account was that there are no roads running out of the town or through town and there are a total of five boats owned in the community with the Mayor admitting that he owns “half a vessel.”
Akutan, AK | eatribes.org
To tackle the issue of the roads, there are plans to place a system of them in the town, only the state and federal governments are reluctant to spend the funds for the roads, ironically. Even if the roads were put into place, though, the harbor is still lacking electricity and running water. The community remains hung on the hope that Trident Seafood’s will utilize the harbor for shipping, while there aren’t any prospective airlines looking to use the runways.
IHOP in Columbia Heights | metroweekly.com
Closer to home, in Washington D.C. the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) ironically subsidized the construction of an International House of Pancakes (IHOP) franchise with the intention of helping a needy community with jobs, but was installed near the affluent Columbia Heights neighborhood. DHHS spent nearly $800 on this IHOP, ironically promoting high-sugar foods, obesity, and carb-loading diets – not a good look for the United States. To add injury to insult, two of IHOP’s dishes are featured in two of MEn’s Health magazine’s 20 most unhealthy restaurant dishes.
Moving forward, there can only be hope that President Trump tackles government waste. In early March he had signed an executive order to essentially audit the government and see where money can be saved and consolidated. Hopefully this will play out in infrastructure, and future discussions won’t have to be held on the government spending millions on useless buildings, roads, and supply systems.